Within academia as much as in political practice, democracy remains a contested concept. The Section focuses on the related debates and contestations, putting emphasis specifically on the controversies related to the concept of liberal representative democracy and its practices, i.e., the form that representative democracy mostly takes nowadays. Liberal democracy, that is the key argument, has always been contested as a concept, and it remains contested today.
The term "contested" in this respect refers to a number of aspects. On the one hand, democratic theorists, politicians and citizens put forward different ideas about what democratic rule implies and requires, and how to interpret liberal democracy. These controversies have been taking place since decades, and they continue today. On the other hand, (liberal) democracy is currently contested and challenged both as a concept and in political practice: There are debates inside and outside parliaments and institutions about what (liberal) democracy is or is not, what are its benefits and pitfalls, and whether it is to be judged positively or not; contestations related to representation and general distrust in the political institutions as well as politicians; there are political actors and movements of all sides of the political spectrum that criticize (liberal)democracy. Moreover, (liberal) democracy both as a concept and in practice is challenged by autocratic politicians and states, and democratic deconsolidation and democratic backsliding by right-wing populist and autocratic politicians and governments destroy liberal democratic norms and institutions. Moreover, the conflicts around (liberal) democracy are part of a worldwide struggle on areas of ideational and political influence. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, for example, has repeatedly been framed as a war between an autocracy and the liberal western European democracies. In sum, (liberal) democracy as a concept is widely contested and debated.
Against this backdrop, it is the goal of the Section to bring together panels and papers that analyse how (liberal) democracy is currently debated, contested and conceptualized, inside and outside Europe, with regard to contemporary challenges such as populism, polarization and autocratisation, and regarding democracy and democratization beyond the nation state and in the European Union and beyond. Papers are invited to discuss questions such as:
▪️ How is (liberal) democracy defined and contested in academia, public discourses and among political elites? How is (liberal) democracy conceptualized and debated in various fora and by different actors?
▪️ In what way is (liberal representative) democracy contested, in which occasions and contexts, and how is democratic backsliding argumentatively defended?
▪️ How are the debates and contestations contextualized, in which occasions do they occur, and are they linked to other issues or other significant concepts like representation, participation, autonomy, freedom, or power?
▪️ How is (liberal) democracy conceptualized and debated in various fora and by different actors?
▪️ What can political science and democratic theory contribute to public discourses about (liberal) democracy, its challenges, and potential reforms?
▪️ How is democracy conceptualized in the framework of the European Union and its multilevel system – both by citizens and elites?
